Q: Dan Centurioni of Alta Loma had a question about the 210 Freeway. He observed that ever since the completion of Interstate 210, connecting La Verne with Redlands, the new section has never assumed the designation of Interstate 210 but is instead referred to as California State Highway 210.

“Is there a reason why it is not designated as part of the Interstate system?” he asked. “Just curious because I don’t see this anywhere else in the state.”

A: Spokeswoman Joy Schneider from Caltrans District 8 (Riverside and San Bernardino counties), said state legislation authorizing number changes for the 210 construction project was complex because the entire route for the highway was considered, beginning with Los Angeles County communities all the way east through Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Interstate status was more directly tied to 210 Freeway construction projects, she said, explaining that interstate status was initiated, then partially rescinded to coincide with construction limits. Schneider said all highway signs should all be updated to reflect the name of Interstate 210 once pending freeway upgrade construction through to the 10 Freeway is completed. More work on the 210 is expected to begin in the fall of 2019 and updated interstate signs will follow.

Q: Riverside resident Paul Bleier asked On the Road, “What do you think of the idea that a smog-check should not be allowed on any vehicle with no front plate or with illegally tinted glass?”

A: Our reader proposes a novel suggestion regarding enforcing laws about cars that lack front license plates or have illegally tinted windows. Unfortunately, it’s not up to On the Road; we can’t make laws. The same goes for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which simply implements the laws that the state Legislature passes. Perhaps our reader would like to contact his local state senator and Assembly member and see what they think? Maybe they will take up his suggestion!

Good news for Riverside County commuters! Truck lanes and safety shoulders are finally coming to the Badlands on the 60 Freeway. Commuters, truckers and anyone who has made the white-knuckle drive through the steep and curving highway between Moreno Valley and Beaumont will be glad to know that the Riverside County Transportation Commission was awarded $71.55 million from the California Transportation Commission last month to partner with Caltrans to build truck lanes and safe shoulders in that area, known as the Badlands. This is the final money needed to complete the funding package for the $138 million Route 60 Truck Lanes Project, according to the commission.

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2019 and the work is projected to take about 2.5 years to finish. The project will add an eastbound truck-climbing lane and a westbound truck-descending lane along the 4.5-mile stretch of the 60 Freeway from Gilman Springs Road to 1.4 miles west of Jack Rabbit Trail. The 60 in this area is currently two lanes in both directions and the new lanes will allow slow-moving trucks to stay to the right so faster-moving vehicles can pass. The project also will upgrade the freeway shoulders to standard widths of 10 feet on the inside shoulders and 12 feet on the outside shoulders.

Transportation officials have advocated for this project for years because accident rates on the 60 westbound in the Badlands are more than double the total statewide accident rates, and accidents on the 60 Freeway eastbound there are higher than the statewide average.

In other good news, the state also is giving Riverside County $7.3 million to widen Temescal Canyon Road from Dos Lagos Road to Leroy Road, and an additional segment north of Dawson Canyon in the Corona area. This should help commuters in that area.

Do you commute to work in the Inland Empire? Spend a lot of time in your vehicle? Have questions about driving, freeways, toll roads or parking? If so, write or call On the Road and we’ll try to answer your questions. Please include your question or issue, name, city of residence, phone number and email address. Write ontheroad@pe.com or call 951-368-9670.

A newspaper, magazine and online journalist in Southern California for three decades, Amy Bentley has written about nearly every topic imaginable, from business and community news to the environment, travel, the justice system, parenting and more. Her writing portfolio can be viewed online at amybentley.contently.com.